Back to the week before I turned one. I didn't listen live because of the Super Bowl, but I've got it on now, so here we go, a day late.
40 - "Everything I Own," Bread
39 - "My World," The Bee Gees
38 - "Ain't Understanding Mellow," Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager
37 - "Together Let's Find Love," The 5th Dimension
36 - "Footstompin' Music," Grand Funk Railroad
35 - "Sweet Seasons," Carole King
34 - "Feelin' Alright," Joe Cocker
33 - "Floy Joy," The Supremes
32 - "It's One of Those Nights (Yes Love)," The Partridge Family
31 - "Bang a Gong (Get it On)," T. Rex
Once again, we begin in the middle of the road. Bread are here again, offering all their worldly possessions for a chance to have their lover back. Definitely one of their better offerings. This Bee Gees song isn't one of their best-remembered, nor should it be. But it did go to #1 in Hong Kong. The 5th Dimension had another hit with more serviceable R&B-lite romanticism. Carole King returns with a song about longing for a peaceful life somewhere out in the country. She has quite a few like that, from what I've heard. And The Partridge Family show up with more lightweight fluff. For the record, my favorite character was Reuben Kincaid. Just because that's such a fantastic name.
R&B has a couple representatives. Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager apparently found understanding with each other, and they find it mellow. They seem happy about it, so good for them. And the Supremes had their last Top 20 with a song that sounds like the good old days, except for one little thing. And "Floy Joy" is apparently the nickname for the most irresistable man in the world. Though they don't say whether or not he drinks Dos Equis.
Rock rounds out the group. Grand Funk Railroad had their second hit with this song that did not make me want to stomp my feet, nor ever listen to this song again. Joe Cocker is here with a cover of a Traffic song. I'm sure you've heard it in several commercials. That opening piano part is pretty distinctive. And T.Rex, who had an amazing run of ten consecutive Top 5s in the U.K. in the early 70s with their propulsive glam rock, scored their only American hit with this chugging, sultry tune that was later covered by the Duran Duran side project Power Station. And sadly, it was that version that I heard first. Forgive me, Marc Bolan.
30 - "Family Affair," Sly and the Family Stone
29 - "Don't Say You Don't Remember," Beverly Bremers
28 - "That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha," Bobby Womack
27 - "Make Me the Woman that You Go Home To," Gladys Knight and the Pips
26 - "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony," The Hillside Singers
25 - "Fire and Water," Wilson Pickett
24 - "Levon," Elton John
23 - "Black Dog," Led Zeppelin
22 - "The Witch Queen of New Orleans," Redbone
21 - "Kiss an Angel Good Morning," Charley Pride
Soul leads us off. Sly and the Family Stone had the last of their three Number 1s, this classic about familial relationships from the album There's A Riot Goin' On. Ex-Sam Cooke backing guitarist Bobby Womack is back, letting someone know how he feels about them. Pretty intensely, if this is any indication. I liked his recent work with Gorillaz, for whatever that's worth. Gladys Knight, with the usual able backing from the Pips, lets her man know she'd like him to stay home more. And Wilson Pickett, the man who gave the world "In the Midnight Hour" and "Mustang Sally," among others, had his last Top 40 hit with a song about a woman with a "heart made of ice." And this problem would be solved, he says, if "fire and water...make (her) their daughter." Interesting solution.
Two from the MOR camp. Former Hair Broadway cast member Beverly Bremers had her biggest of two Top 40 hits, a vaguely Phil Spector-sounding song about a girl who can't get over her first young love, even though he can. And the 9-member family act The Hillside Singers provide us with the first of two versions of the song that began life as the commercial jingle "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke." For some reason, I remember learning this at school in the early grades. I think it was around the same time we learned "Blowin' in the Wind." Ah yes, Bob Dylan and ad agency McCann Erickson, both creators of timeless folk music.
24 and 23 form something I haven't brought up for a while, the Classic Rock Double Shot. Elton John had just his third top 40 hit about a man who was born on Christmas Day, later named his own son Jesus because he liked the name, and went into business selling "cartoon balloons." And yes, Bernie Taupin named the character after The Band's Levon Helm. And hey, when you write out the gist of the lyric, it's pretty strange-sounding, so in a surprise, I'm giving Elton John this week's Uneasy Rider Award. Right after comes Robert Plant and his band, threatening to make you sweat and groove, mama. This isn't one of my favorites of theirs, but I must say it comes pretty close to being a "definitive" Zeppelin song.
And at 22 and 21, we have...two more songs. Before "Come and Get Your Love," Redbone just missed the Top 20 with a song about legendary Louisana voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. Okay, but I've got to say I prefer the Shel Silverstein song "Marie Laveau," as performed by Bobby Bare. And Charley Pride, baseball prospect-turned-trailblazing country star, had his biggest pop hit by far with a song about how marital bliss is the secret to happiness. Cool, I suppose.
Tomorrow: drowning, hurting, and roller skating.
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